DONEGAL’S DREAMS OF landing a third consecutive Ulster title crumbled in Clones last Sunday against Monaghan.
Now Jim McGuinness’s side must head the backdoor route to stay in the All-Ireland title race.
They head to Carrick-on-Shannon for a Round 4 qualifier battle with Laois.
But can the reigning All-Ireland champions recover?
Here’s five key factors that will influence their attempts to recovery.
1. Injuries
Similar to Cork in 2011, Donegal are discovering that injuries can lead to the defence of an All-Ireland title unravelling. The loss of Mark McHugh after that withering collision with Stephen Gollogly was a pivotal moment last Sunday against Monaghan.
A perforated eardrum, concussion and a quad muscle tear ensure McHugh will be sidelined tomorrow against Laois and means Donegal are robbed of a critical component in their system.
In addition the signs were clear last Sunday that Karl Lacey’s injury plagued campaign has affected him greatly. From the moment Darren Hughes knifed through the centre of the Donegal rearguard, it was apparent that Monaghan were attacking a vulnerable area in the Donegal side.
With concerns expressed over the fitness of defender Paddy McGrath and Anthony Thompson, allied to the problems midfielder Neil Gallagher has endured this season in staving off injuries, it adds up to a difficult situation for Jim McGuinness in getting his best team out on to the pitch.
2. Depth of Panel
The injuries that Donegal have suffered brings into sharp focus the array and quality of replacements that they possess. Ryan McHugh did impress when brought on against Monaghan in a difficult situation, shot over a classy point and has strong credentials to start tomorrow.
Last Sunday, David Walsh was withdrawn before throw-in, came on in the 9th minute and was taken off at half-time after being shown a yellow card. Marty O’Reilly only lasted 23 minutes, Leo McLoone was whipped off after 32 minutes while Ryan Bradley was substituted for the third successive game.
Donegal’s system demands hard graft which inevitably leads to substitutions during matches. But do they have the reserves to cope with injuries and freshen up the team in games?
3. Attacking Return
Amidst all the praise for Donegal’s refined system and defensive prowess in 2012, it was undeniable that their improvements in front of goal were central to their All-Ireland success. They improved their scoring average per championship game from 13.3 points in 2011 to 17.4 points in 2012.
Last Sunday was Donegal’s 16th championship game under Jim McGuinness and was only the third time they failed to reach double-figures in white flags raised. The previous occasions were when they struck six balls over the bar against Tyrone and Dublin in 2011.
The key reason for that was how their forwards were shut down in Clones. Monaghan’s defence were physical in their approach and they shone. Unusual sights included Colm McFadden failing to score from play and Michael Murphy failing to score at all.
In fact none of Donegal’s starting forwards managed to register from play with a defender (Frank McGlynn), midfielder (Rory Kavanagh) and substitute (Ryan McHugh) kicking their three points from play. It’s an area they will hope to improve on against Laois.
4. Coping with opponents style of play
Hindsight, being the useful tool that it is, hinted that Down demonstrated how to get at Donegal in the Ulster semi-final. The Mourne men were undone by a lack of a clinical edge but that was something Monaghan displayed from the off last Sunday.
Surging four points clear after seven minutes forced Donegal to try to chase the game. But Monaghan had flooded their defence with bodies and as Dick Clerkin revealed afterwards, their forensic studying of Donegal’s gameplan beforehand lead them to conclude they were best served in taking Donegal on at their own game.
If this is now the established template for facing Donegal, are Laois are capable of implementing it tomorrow? It’s going to be intriguing to see Donegal cope.
5. Six-Day Turnaround
Only twice in the history of the qualifiers, have beaten provincial finalists bounced back the following week to win in the qualifiers. Dublin had a seven day break before beating Sligo in 2oo1 while Down responded in six days to defeat Tipperary last year.
Donegal aim to reverse the established pattern affecting teams who lose provincial deciders. Key to their hopes is their ability to dispense with the gloom from their loss last Sunday in Clones. Having a psychological master at the helm in McGuinness is of great assistance to them in that regard.
Michael Murphy was extremely upbeat during the week and revealed there was a positive air at Monday night’s team meeting. The All-Ireland champions will be intent on parking last Sunday’s loss and booking an August Bank Holiday weekend date in Croke Park.
